Committee reviews Larned-based SPTP: statutory process, census and $48M inpatient cost

The Committee on Social Services Budget held an informational hearing on the state's violent predator treatment program (SPTP), receiving a statutory overview from a legislative adviser and program and budget detail from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS).

Jason Thompson, senior assistant adviser, told the committee the program is authorized by statutes cited in the committee memo (KSA 59-29a01 and related sections) and leads to involuntary civil commitment after a referral and court process. "Once the attorney general has decided to file the petition, that initiates the court proceeding," Thompson said, describing multidisciplinary review, a prosecutor review committee and court hearings that determine probable cause and custody.

KDADS Deputy Secretary Scott Bruner summarized where the program operates and how it treats residents. "As of December 30, the total number of residents in the program were 286 with 242 located at Larned and 44 in other settings," Bruner said, and described three reintegration facilities (Mico House at Osawatomie, Meyer House East at Larned and Maple and Willow Houses at Parsons) that provide supervised communal living for those progressing through treatment.

Bruner outlined release pathways authorized by statute: transitional release, conditional release (with a minimum five-year conditional-release period in the community), and final discharge, all of which require court hearings and judicial orders. He also described patient-rights provisions discussed in the memo.

On cost, Bruner told the panel KDADS recorded $48,000,000 in 2025 spending for the inpatient component at Larned and reported separate reintegration expenditures (about $2.3 million at Osawatomie and $2.0 million at Parsons). KDADS also reported approximately $1,800,000 in off-site medical treatment costs in 2025, an increase from the prior year; the department proposed budgeting about $32,000,000 for the inpatient component in FY26 and FY27 while flagging additional contract-staffing requests.

Committee members pressed KDADS on population flows, facility options and statutory constraints. KDADS officials said the program's security and separations requirements historically point to Larned State Hospital and that statute language and county limits would restrict moving or expanding the program without legislative changes.

The hearing was informational; the committee did not vote on policy changes. Members and KDADS agreed the issues warrant further study, particularly choices about facility roles, costs of medicalized care for aging residents, and the statutory language that governs placement and county limits.